A dramatic change in spending habits by black consumers may be the only way to improve race relations in Cincinnati.

The Rev. Damon Lynch III, pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, suggested the National Urban League drop plans to hold its convention here in 2003. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Some African-American community leaders Friday raised the possibility of imposing economic sanctions in the form of a boycott or “selective buying.”

        A potential target: getting the National Urban League to drop its plans to hold a convention here.

        The leaders said economic disenfranchisement is one of the root causes of the civil unrest. They insist getting to the bottom of racial discord often requires a bottom-line strategy.

        “There's always room for economic sanctions,” said Kathye Lewis, chairwoman of the African American Chamber of Commerce in Cincinnati. “And now is the best time there ever was to drive home the point that business can't go on as usual.”

        The unemployment rate for blacks in Greater Cincinnati was 9.2 percent in 1998, the most recent year for which such data is available. The unemployment rate for whites that year was 2.9 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

        The Rev. Damon Lynch III, pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, suggested Thursday on ABC's Nightline news program that a boycott of Cincinnati by groups such as the National Urban League, which plans to hold its convention here in 2003, would be appropriate if nothing is done to change the status quo.

        “I would hope the leaders in Cincinnati, all the leaders, would really take a stand and say something has to change in our city,” the Rev. Mr. Lynch said on Nightline. “But if nothing happens, it's just business as usual.”

        The Rev. Mr. Lynch is one of the organizers of Cincinnati Black United Front, which boycotted some downtown restaurants last summer becaused they closed during a predominantly black music festival and stayed open for similar events that attract mostly whites.

        The restaurant owners said they did not deliberately discriminate against African-Americans.

        Steven Reece, a Cincinnati businessman whose daughter, Alicia Reece, is a Cincinnati City Council member, said “selective buying”would be a more effective approach than a boycott.

        “I'm saying, "Spend your money where people are reinvesting back in us and in our neighborhoods,'” he said.

        The Rev. Mr. Lynch has said in recent days that groups such as Downtown Cincinnati Inc. are studying whether it's time to overturn Issue 3, the city charter amendment prohibiting the city from banning discrimination against gays.

        A study released last year estimated that more than $60 million in business had been lost to Cincinnati because of Issue 3.

        The study convinced Mr. Lynch that an economic boycott can have a bite — and can make the city's power structure react.

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